Spinal stenosis often involves narrowing of the spinal canal and pinching of the spinal cord and nerves, causing pain in the back and legs. Typically, with age, a person's ligaments may thicken, intervertebral discs may deteriorate, and facet joints may break down contributing to spinal stenosis. Injury, heredity, arthritis, changes in blood flow, and other causes may also contribute to spinal stenosis. Treatments for such conditions vary, though such treatments typically involve open surgery to repair tissue and/or allow for implantation of an implant.
A recent advancement, minimally invasive surgery, is becoming increasingly important—patient trauma and recovery time is vastly reduced, amongst other benefits. In general, such surgeries involve making a small incision in the skin and tissue of a patient, inserting a minimally-invasive access portal (e.g., a cannula or retractor) in the incision, and subsequently performing surgery through the access portal in a less-intrusive manner. In spinal surgery, as an example, an implant or other device is moved through the access portal and engaged with part of the patient's spine (e.g., to assist with fusion, stabilization, etc.). Yet, it is often difficult to manipulate the implant or other device through the access portal. It is also desirable to use an access portal with the smallest exposure (e.g., diameter) possible so that the surgery exacts the least trauma on the patient. Current instruments and implants are cumbersome in this regard, and make it difficult to use smaller-footprint access portals.
Therefore, there exists a need for improved surgical instruments, implants, and methods to overcome the foregoing deficiencies.